Knife Rights has filed suit against New York City
June 9, 2011: Knife Rights has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit to stop New York City from arresting law-abiding citizens carrying common pocket knives.
The lawsuit challenges New York State law on “gravity knives” and switchblades, and New York City District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s attempt to mischaracterize the most widely-owned pocket knives in America as contraband. The case seeks a judicial determination that the law is unconstitutionally vague as applied to these ordinary pocket knives.
“District Attorney Vance is trying to advance his political career by exploiting a vague state law to demonize common pocket knives,” said Knife Rights Chairman Doug Ritter. “In the process, hundreds of law abiding knife owners are being arrested and Vance has extracted nearly $2 million from retailers to avoid prosecution on bogus charges. This lawsuit intends to put a stop to Vance’s abusive and unconscionable civil rights violations.”
“One-hand opening pocket knives are legal tools, used and carried every day by millions of law-abiding citizens for work, recreation and self-defense,” said Ritter. “Shame on D.A. Vance for demonizing common tools and turning honest citizens into criminals for purely political ends.”
A knife is just a tool and if you want to ban them then YOU are a tool.
I was afraid to bring even my 2.25 inch Gerber paraframe to NYC. And forget the pepper spray!
NYC: Home of Bloomberg, Wiener and Vance. Need we say more?
I’ll remind you that tools are useful, therefore no politician can be a tool.
Don’t go to NYC for the same reason I don’t go to Chi-town… next he’ll be outlawing steak knives, butcher knives, and god forbid, you have a paring knife in your house!!!
Knives are a universally standard tool among humans. Assaults on the right to carry highly refined and useful versions of such a basic tool necessary for humanity’s continued existence seem to be as foolish as banning the use of your thumbs. We may carry guns because we might need them someday, but we carry knives because will use them everyday. I seriously want them to revamp the anti-automatic knife laws. Anything under a certain length cannot be considered anything more than an improvised weapon. Of considerably less defensive or offensive power than your average chair leg.